How do I prepare a home for aging in place?

The process, in ten steps

1. 1

   Start with a walk, not a wishlist

   Walk the home in the order it's actually used, looking at conditions — not at people. The free Quick Check covers the 15 highest-impact items in about three minutes.

2. 2

   Entrances

   Solid steps, a rail you can hold the whole way, light after dark, and a threshold you can see.

3. 3

   Stairs & steps

   A full-length handrail, lighting at both ends, even treads, and nothing stored on the steps.

4. 4

   Bathrooms

   A wall-anchored grab bar at the tub, slip resistance where it's wet, support near the toilet, and the tub entry itself.

5. 5

   Bedrooms & night paths

   The route from bed to bathroom, lit — because the room that's fine at 6 p.m. is the same room crossed in the dark.

6. 6

   Kitchens

   Everyday items reachable without climbing, GFCI near the sink, an anchored range, and a real plan for a pan fire.

7. 7

   Lighting everywhere else

   Every change of level visible after dark, switches at doorways, and sensors instead of memory.

8. 8

   Smoke, CO & electrical basics

   Alarms on every level, tested and dated; CO coverage near sleeping areas; a two-ways-out plan everyone has practiced.

9. 9

   General home & maintenance

   Furniture anchored, rugs that stay put, cords out of the walking line, and water draining away from the paths you walk.

10. 10

    Organize, then reassess later

    Turn findings into a short project list — bundled by who does the work — then record completions and re-run the walk after the work is done.

Room-by-room guides

What a normal homeowner should actually look at in each area — observable conditions, sources, and next steps.

What a finding looks like

Every DwellReady finding shows your answer, what it identified, why it appeared, and the public source behind it. This one is fictional sample data:

The questions families ask